It's Not Easy Being Green
by J'onnFan
Summary: The Martian Manhunter is lonely despite his new friends. Then she waltzed into his life unexpectedly, a fan of the detached hero. J'onnXOC.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I wish that I was gifted enough to have helped create a cartoon. Alas, it was not meant to be.

* * *

He walked quietly down the winding hall toward the wing that contained his room. It had a door, but one that was designed to keep others out since he could just phase through the wall. He did just that, hoping to obtain a few hours of rest before it was his turn to keep an eye on the Watchtower's surveillance system. He settled into the couch along the window and wondered if he should get a pet to keep him company. It wasn't as if the Justice League weren't his friends, but he needed something of a companion. He had been alone for far too long. And they were all so different to him. At least an animal he could understand. A cat, maybe a cat like the one that the Kent family had the day he visited for Christmas, was the answer. Morphing into his Martian exterior, he entered a sort of meditative state where he could rest without being bothered by the pestering feeling of loneliness.

His eyes scanned all the areas that normally posed problems for the League. Things seemed under control tonight. Not that he was inclined to step in anyway. He normally preferred his detached perch. And then that annoying ringtone, that Flash set his phone to whenever he got the chance, went off. He strolled over and picked it up with apprehension. He just had this gut feeling that his quick friend wasn't calling just because he wanted to some friendly conversation.

"How may I be of assistance?" He was proud of his polite response despite the annoying ringtone.

"Hey there green! I just picked up a friend, but I really need to get back to the bank robbery I was dealing with. Can you come babysit for a little while?"

"I thought you were inordinately fast. Can't he wait patiently the ten seconds it takes you to deal with the situation."

"Ohh, sarcasm Johnny? But no, _she _can't wait the _several hours_ you know that it is going to take for the police to get all the information that they want whenever I mess with one of their cases. I tried to convince them to let me record a tape with everything I knew and have them play it in slow motion, but they won't let me. Makes me want to stop trying so hard to help them."

"That is not true. You love being a hero and the attention it brings. And you have a big heart, despite your exaggeration of the time the police take. Tell her I'll be there in about thirty seconds."

"Thanks man!"

He stepped onto the platform that would take him to the spot that Flash had dictated. His surroundings swirled into a dark, enclosed space, and right next to trembling woman. He thought she was terrified until he felt the chill air hit him. She was cold. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her and she stiffened. She had obviously had not been expecting him to appear out of nowhere.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself first. I should have known my young friend would not stick around long enough for such explanations. I am J'onn. Would you mind if we went somewhere warmer?"

She relaxed a bit. "I overheard part of the conversation, but I wasn't expecting you to show up so quickly. Slightly ironic considering I was just saved by the Flash. Yes please, take me somewhere warm. And I am truly sorry for making you _babysit _me."

He couldn't help but smile. There was something sweet about her. Innocent. The sort of person that made sure the League didn't lose its faith in humanity. He did a small scan of her emotions and intentions and feeling nothing negative pulled her back with him onto the clear platform used for return trips. It might nice to have someone new at the Watchtower.

He had made a mistake, he thought as they swirled into the Watchtower. She didn't know he was not human. It would only take an instant to take on his human form, but it was an instant he did not have. She was wrapped in his very _green_ arms. She looked at them, giving off a confused aura. She tilted her head and looked at him from behind her curly red bangs with eyes as green as gems - straight into his red eyes. She immediately went slack in his arms. He was unsure what to do. He was supporting her, so he couldn't release her and have her hit the floor, but how could stand there and continue to terrify her? He was thinking on a solution to his predicament when she blew him away completely.

"J'onn? As in J'onn J'onzz? I didn't believe Flash when he said he knew you." She said it reverently, as if afraid he would vanish.

Seeing that she was no stranger to his identity he floated them over to a loveseat near the kitchen. After setting her down he offered her coffee. She declined, saying that she would rather be able to fall asleep. She had been up on coffee and adrenaline for far too long already. He sat next to her.

"I think you have quite a tale to tell, young one. But before you begin, what is your name?"

"Ah, right. Sorry. I'm Alina Faden. Pleased to meet you."

"Alina. So please tell me how you came to be rescued, as well as know my name."

"Well, to make the story really short, after my parents were murdered by the mafia I became a fugitive since I was a witness. I thought they had lost my trail until two days ago; I've been awake since then trying to stay out of their reach. They almost had me when Flash ran by and picked me up on his way to the bank. When I thanked him he beamed and told me he was a hero and saving people was what he did. So I asked him if he knew you. He seemed shocked that I knew about you since you rarely come to earth, and called to ask that you look after me. Honestly, I think he just wanted me to meet you; I was quite safe after his rescue. I'm grateful, though. I've wanted to meet you ever since I saw you morph into a dragon over the Wall of China. I was there on vacation with my parents years ago and became obsessed. I did all sorts of research, but your friends are very protective of you and I couldn't get much."

"Why me? As I recall there were several of us there fighting. Why were you interested in me?"

She blushed slightly. Anybody else might not have noticed. He did. "Well, you see, it was the way you treated that lady you were with before you ran off to save the world. It was so tender. The only time I've seen such tender care was when my father cared for my mother whenever she got sick."

He was taken aback. She was just full of surprises. And she was swaying from the strain of lack of sleep and fearfrom the previous days. He gathered her into his arms and walked into his hallway, settling her into the room next to his. She was asleep in his arms by the time he opened the door. He laid her down and pulled off her shoes and socks. He draped an extra blanket over her and walked back out to the main hub. He pulled up a screen of her room when he got back to his sentry duty. To make sure she wasn't a spy attempting to betray them. To make sure when she got up she wouldn't go wandering about the tower like a lost puppy. Or so he told himself as he kept glancing at the sleeping mound.

* * *

Full-on confrontations to all sorts of interesting villains he was almost used to. But this kind of underhanded plotting he could have never expected. Maybe Batman would have been skeptical, but J'onn still lacked that cunning edge despite centuries of death and betrayal. He had gone to an interview with Diana and they were offered champange, which he turned down. Then they had offered Chocos and he had been unable to resist. Two minutes later they looked at each other in understanding. They had been drugged. It was a trap and they were about to fall asleep. He had mentally called before falling down unconcious. Interestingly, he had focused all his remaining energy on contacting Alina. Despite knowing her for only a few hours it turned out to be a wise choice.

Enraged that her favorite hero was in danger she had sent up all sorts of alarms in the Watchtower and the uncouncious pair were carried out by Green Lantern not much later. Superman took care of the offenders. Green Lantern had just reached the Watchtower when alarms went off in several places. The available heros split into teams and headed out to the different locations. Shayera picked up Diana and carried her to her room before rushing off to join the others on Earth. J'onn lay on a hard chair that hardly looked comfortable. Having some self defense training due to her past she did not shy away from the idea of dragging him to his room. She drapped an arm over her shoulder and tried her best to lift him off the seat. To her surprise he stirred and mangaed to shift some weight to his feet and help share part of the burden as she half dragged him to his room.

He didn't know what they had given him and the world felt unbalanced. He leaned on something for support and when it moved recognized it as Alina. She somehow managed to drag him to his room. He tried to lighten his density so he wouldn't be too much of a burden, but his head was spinning and he wasn't sure it was working. She didn't complain, though, just asked him for the password to the door and tried to lay him on his bed. He collapsed into it, accidentally tangling his arms around her and bringing her down with him. He held on to her for dear life, something steady in the uneasy motion all around. She lay there quietly and began to hum, lulling him to sleep. Unable to face the wavering world any longer, he surrendered to the stillness behind his eyelids. He knew instinctively that he was safe around her. She had answered his call for help and was still trying to help. He had not slept so soundly in a long time.

* * *

It had been a few days since the drugged Chocos incident. Alina had been appalled that they had managed to lure him with cookies. He told her that it wouldn't happen again. He'd be giving up Chocos from now on. She laughed at that and asked him why she was letting them win. The redhead proceeded to stuff him full of the chocolate cookies until he admitted that he loved them and that he wouldn't give them up, just be careful in the future. The Flash had appeared only long enough to poke fun at him, saying he'd eat anything as long as it was her hand that was doing the feeding. She had blushed and excused herself.

"What is bothering you?" he had asked as he followed her to the kitchen, "Why did his comment cause you to become embarrassed."

"Because feeding someone cookies like that was rather intimate. I didn't think about it until he mentioned it. I guess since I've always dreamed to meeting you it comes naturally to try to please."

He was floored. She looked for ways to please him? "Your friendship is most pleasant and welcome. Do not let his words provoke you. Do as you wish, I saw nothing wrong with your actions." She smiled shyly up at him.

"Actually, that kind of brings up a topic that we need to discuss. I am very thankful that you brought me here to protect me, and that in turn I was able to alert the rest of the crew of your need, but how long will I be able to stay here?"

"You can stay as long as you like. You can leave whenever you please, you are not a prisoner here. Just let me know when and where you wish to go and I will see you there safely." She mumbled something intelligable. "I don't have Superman's hearing ability, Alina." She frowned but spoke up.

"Do you really mean I can stay as long as I like? What if I really like it here and don't want to leave?"

He felt his chest tighten with emotion. She wasn't going to leave as soon as he had thought. "You would not be lonely here, so far from Earth?"

"No. There are a lot of people running through the Watchtower at any given moment. Interesting people, too. I've made friends with many of them. And, I have you." It was true. They had spent a lot of time sitting around talking the past few days. He hadn't wanted her to go, finally having found a companion, but he had never thought she would actually want to stay.

"Then stay. We welcome your help around here. You seem to be the only one with time to wash dishes, since you don't rush off at every alarm that goes off." He said this with a smile. It was true, but he meant it as a joke. She wasn't going to be allowed to stay on the terms that she help clean, she would be allowed to remain because the rest of the Leauge got along really well with the mellow redhead (mellow redhead-go figure) and enjoyed her company. He enjoyed her company most of all. An alarm went off near the moon, which meant that someone not human would have to go. Seeing that he was the only one qualified at the moment he cast Alina an apologetic look as he stepped onto the appropriate platform. She wished him luck and on impulse stood on her toes and kissed his cheek before he transfered out. Shayera watched from a doorway and smiled to herself. It seemed like J'onn had found his match. Good for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Turns out Martians are green... but a lot sexier than we thought. I was too young to help make J'onn though, so he wears that awful blue color...

Warning: Rated M for some adult topics and intimate details.

* * *

J'onn returned exhausted from battle, but he had learned through the centuries to sleep lightly, aware of his surroundings. So it bothered him that he hadn't felt the door open. He was tired enough that he only woke up as soft footfalls padded up to his bed... and climbed into it. He opened his mind and recognized her instantly. Alina. What was she doing? She carefully snuggled against his back, gave a small contented sigh, and promptly fell asleep. He was completely at a loss. Humans... He figured he would ask her later. He settled back to sleep. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered why he hadn't changed his door code knowing that he had given it to her several days before. He must truly trust her...

A few hours later a small moan woke him. He thought maybe she was hurt, but he couldn't sense any pain from her. He slowly rolled over to look at her. She gave another throaty groan and pulled closer to him, burying her head in his chest. He normally wouldn't have peered into her mind, but he was afraid Dr. Destiny might be loose again so he linked with her dream briefly, only to be caught completely by surprise. She was having a dream that she was mating... with him. He broke out of her mind and started down at the figure buried in his arms. She seemed to be enjoying her dream. He felt his heart rate increase and had to accept that the visions he had seen in her mind were too tempting to ignore. She dragged her hands down his back and he almost snapped. He forced himself to phase away from her, replacing his body with a pillow so she wouldn't wake up. She wrapped herself around the pillow and kept dreaming. He stole out in search of the only one who might laugh and taunt, but give him honest answers to his questions without judgment; Wally. He knocked on his door out of courtesy. Wally opened it almost instantly, as would be expected.

"John! What are you doing up at this hour?" From the door J'onn could tell why Wally was up: the video game was paused at the moment.

"I have questions that I feel most comfortable asking you." Flash looked at him in utter disbelief.

"I thought I'd never hear those words. Come on in." Once he had closed the door he zipped unto the couch in a cross-legged position, fully attentive. "So, what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering about human mating traditions." Flash choked. Then he started laughing, as the Martian had expected.

"So my man really is a man! I was starting to wonder. So what do you want to know exactly? How we humans do it, or how to convince a lady to join you?" Wally's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"I believe that both would be enlightening."

"Well, do you mind me asking if you have the same equipment as us guys?"

"I can morph. I can recreate just about anything."

"Well... I guess that works but... would it feel good? I guess it's my turn to ask how babies were made on Mars."

"We combined genetic samples in sacs designed to help the fetus develop properly." Wally slapped his hand against his forehead in mock despair.

"So you never mated for fun?"

"Martian bodies were not designed for the sort of 'fun' you are implying." Wally sighed.

"Then you better recreate a human male pretty darn close, nerve endings and all, if you are going to want to enjoy my sort of 'fun'." He winked. Wally looked at the Martian wondering if they were capable of blushing. J'onn looked completely composed. How he could manage that, considering the topic, was beyond him.

"I've been recreating humans quite precicely for some time now, I assure you." That brought an idea to Flash's mind.

"Hmm... Does that mean that maybe the continual recreation of human hormones has finally affected you? That's kind of interesting."

J'onn shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible. But recently I feel as if shocks ran down my spine and straight to the bottom of my stomach whenever..." He stopped. He assumed Flash was mostly aware of his feelings toward Alina, but he would rather not hand out that sort of information freely nevertheless.

"Ah, yes. Hormones." West grinned like an idiot. "So educational porn it is." J'onn had a bad feeling this conversation was leading somewhere he had not intended it to. But he still had many questions left unanswered.

"Porn?" Wally only winked at him and headed over to the TV.

* * *

Damn him. As if her dream had not been enough to inflame him, that obnoxious kid had deemed that a picture was worth a thousand words and had shown him all manner of human mating that had what he called 'hormones' running wild within him. He phased through the wall into his room only to face the last thing he needed to see at the moment. Alina in green lace underwear. He stood there in shock as his whole body thrummed with need. She hadn't noticed his silent entrance and continued walking about, trying to decide what to wear from several outfits sprawled on the couch. When she leaned over to grab her shoes from under a table he gasped and she realized she wasn't alone. She turned abruptly and blushed, which meant she was giving him a really nice view of her breasts. Her red curls floated around her in disarray.

"What are you doing?" His voice came out more husky than he had intended.

"Trying to pick an outfit."

"In my room. In underwear?"

"I didn't think you'd care." She blushed a deeper shade of pink.

"I do care. That might be the problem." He stopped trying to think rationally and stalked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down to brush his lips against hers as he had glimpsed in her dream. She gasped and stiffened for a split second. She looked straight into his eyes.

"Do you know what you're doing?" He nodded. "Good. I wouldn't appreciate you starting something you're not willing to finish." She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him in for another kiss, this time more involved as she demanded entrance to his mouth. His mind was a swirl of emotions that he had not really felt before. Desire pounded through him. But through it all was the overarching desire to be as close to her as possible. To keep her by his side for as long as she would let him. She ran her thigh up his and he realized why it was that he wanted to join with her so desperately. Part of him was screaming to get as close to her as possible, and keep her there. He floated them over to his bed, landing lightly over her. She pulled up her legs around his waist as soon as he set her down, never breaking the kiss. His hands moved of their own accord. As if instinct mixed with that night's images guided his actions. He ran his hands on her legs, her hips, her stomach, finally reaching her breasts. He cupped them and she moaned into his mouth. He ran his thumbs over her hardening nipples and she arched under him, pressing herself closer to his hips.

"Take on your real form." She whispered. He couldn't believe his ears. She wanted him exactly for who he was. He shifted shape in her arms, unable to deny her anything at the moment. She smiled and ran her hands over the hard planes of his face, his elongated head, his defined muscles. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. A beautiful woman who loved him for who, and what, he was. He couldn't resist pulling her in for another kiss. She dragged her nails softly down his sides and drew figure eights progressively closer to the space between his thighs that was beginning to feel hot and electrified. He willed himself to reproduce between his legs that which he had seen in her dream. He felt it was safer to follow what her own mind had produced than the videos Wally had shown him. There was no emotion in those videos. Her dream had been alive with passion.

* * *

She lay sated and asleep in his arms as he watched the starts and Earth through the windows. He felt incredibly overprotective of the human. He trusted her, in some ways, more than many of the heroes that he worked with daily. Unused to being overwhelmed by powerful emotions other than grief and loneliness he tried to sort rationally through them. But they made no sense. At all. He was centuries old and she was no more than twenty five, they were completely different species, he had known her for only about ten days and she had free access to his room, she had teased a sensuality that he didn't know he had, and he was no longer haunted by his past. Funny how a list of reasons why they shouldn't be together turned so swiftly into reasons why they should. If he were honest with himself, he was happy, and it terrified him.


	3. Chapter 3

Alina felt herself grow restless, even as she fought waking. She felt boneless and was tucked against a warm pillow. Warm… pillow… Hmmm…. Something was off about that. She felt herself awaken a bit further. Cracking open her eyes just a tiny bit, she saw a green arm. That shocked her fully awake.

She had crawled into his bed. She had been virtually hounded out of her room in the middle of the night by some gruff gentleman in what looked like a ridiculous spacesuit, who told her to get out while he patched up a piece of the wall that was apparently close to breaking off and sucking the contents of her room out into the void. She had blinked stupidly at the door the closed in her face, debated briefly heading toward the couch in the living area, then – still a bit drunken with sleep, what else could have prompted her to do something so reckless – decided that J'onn's room was just a few steps away, with a warm bed and a sexy alien. She didn't even stop to consider that the code might have been changed. She just plugged it in, let herself into his room, and curled up with him. Really, what had she been thinking! She had not been surprised when she had awoken alone a few hours later. As her room still seemed to be "under construction", she had found her clothes tossed in a box outside her door. She took it back with her to J'onn's room – he wasn't there, and she'd already crawled into his bed, how much worse could it get? – and proceeded to try to pick out an outfit not too wrinkled in the process.

And then… Then… She wasn't sure she hadn't imagined the rest. She turned her head slightly to look back and drank in the sight of all those sharp green edges that passed for a chin, and a nose, and a forehead. And then her gaze was met by a set of wise red eyes. She panicked. With J'onn kissing her, she hadn't been able to think straight. To panic. But now, naked and tucked against warm green skin, scrutinized under those timeless eyes, she had nothing to distract her from what she had done.

She had waltzed into his room, into his bed, and later had waltzed around in her underwear. And then they had done a different sort of waltzing. A slightly hysterical giggle escaped her.

"You are distressed." J'onn's tone made it clear it was not a question. He gently withdrew his arms from around her, starting to pull his whole body away from hers. "I apologize. I must have misunderstood something." The way he dropped his eyes finally made her react.

"No! No, you didn't misunderstand. I wanted this. I'm sorry. I… I just…" She stopped to take a deep breath. "I've wanted this for a long time, but I never thought to hope that you might be interested. I never allowed myself to really think about it because I thought it was impossible. I'm having a hard time believing it happened. That you…" She lost her nerve. She dropped her gaze to her hands. "That you might actually like me."

"I believed that I have been quite clear about how content I am with your presence in the tower." J'onn asked, slightly puzzled. "Of course I like you. Everyone likes you."

Alina laughed. A watery sound, but at least without the hysteric edge. "Ah, well. I sure hope the whole tower doesn't like me in the manner that involves waking up tangled and naked."

J'onn couldn't help chuckling a bit. "My apologies. Despite years in contact with humans, euphemisms sometimes escape me." He ran a hand through her hair, catching on tangles. "I admit I had never considered a further form of intimacy. My people simply don't think on such things. But I can assure you I will not be able to stop thinking about it now. I sought out your company and proximity before. Now that there is a way to be even closer to you, I will seek it out as well. Your presence soothes me."

Alina opened her mouth as if to say something. When no sound came out, she just closed it again, gave him a brilliant smile, and snuggled against his chest until he was forced to lie back down with Alina draped over him. His hand ran through her hair again, working gently through the knots and tangles. This was much better than getting a cat, he thought with a smile.

Author's Note: I know it has been FOREVER since I updated this. I had honestly forgotten about it!

But your kind reviews prodded me into action. I think my writing style has changed quite a bit in these past years.

What do you think? Is it still ok?

Have a great day!


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